Healthy Coconut Curry Chicken

Coconut milk and curry powder together make for a tremendously satisfying dish.

But then,

add ginger, jalapeno, fresh cilantro, and a mass of minced garlic, and

Heavens, yes.

Yes.

This lively Indian meal is two things: quick and wildly flavorful. Your house will smell divine–less like curry and more like sauteed ginger and garlic. When I made it, I wondered why I hadn’t thought to invite a bunch of guests over, because it’s one of those meals whose flavors taste a lot more complex and sophisticated than they really are.

Serve it with peas, long-grain white rice, and lots of fresh cilantro for a full, balanced dinner.

Hi Andie, your RSS feed doesn’t seem to be updating on Google Reader – the last entry it’s showing is from Feb 18th. I’ve tried resubscribing which didn’t help. Sorry if you’re already aware of the issue, just thought I’d give you a heads up ;-)

Also this recipe looks DELICIOUS, I’m veggie so I’m going to give it a try with veg and tofu, mmmm :)

This looks absolutely amazing! I used to make a great coconut curry with chicken breast and vegetables (to address the people above), but stopped making it for some odd reason. Thanks for reminding me!

Dumb question – do you happen to know the difference between the different colors of curry? Like, I know I love yellow curry, but I don’t think I’m much of a fan of red. Are they different spices, or is it sort of like green / yellow / red peppers – just a matter of quantity or ripeness, etc.? Can’t wait to try this, but I need to find yellow curry first…

Not dumb at all. So, curry powder–what I used above–is what’s more traditionally used in Indian cooking, and it’s generally a blend of cumin, cardamom, turmeric (which helps impart a yellow color), cloves, pepper, etc.
Curry paste is more often used in traditional Thai cooking. These are the yellow curry pastes (which have turmeric), red curry pastes, etc. They are moist blends of spices that include various chiles.

Flavor-wise, you could substitute yellow curry paste in this dish (I’m not certain on the exact measurement), but curry powder is what I’d really recommend.

Fiona! You can still make this. Sub out the chicken for any veg you like (cauliflower would be awesome) and use veg stock. Also look up a recipe for pav bahji, which is like the Indian version of biscuits and gravy!

Hello my dear!
Just thought I’d fill you in on two techincal things. Your blog does not update itself on “bloglovin'” and this morning, (because I subscribe to you via email and bloglovin’ because God forbid I miss a post ;) )it was telling me that the article written on March 8th of 2011 was new for today. Not sure if those are just glitches on my end, but I thought you should be aware!!

Hi Andie. My husband is Indian, and I make a shrimp curry that’s similar to this, but adds tomatoes. It’s one of our favorites.

If you live anywhere close to an Asian/Indian grocery store, make a trip and pick up the following to make this an even better dish: Fresh Curry Leaves, Whole cumin and black mustard seeds, turmeric and corriander powder and garam masala. Drop about 1/2 tsp. each cumin and mustard seeds and curry leaves in with your hot oil just before adding the onions until they’re starting to pop, then add the onions and turn down the heat. Use about 1 tsp. turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp. garam masala and 2 tsp. corriander instead of the curry powder.

Someone else commented about the differences in curries. Essentially, when you’re talking about Indian food, “curry” means sauce or gravy, and every dish has variations. I use the above for most of my curries, but there are lots of different spice blends depending on the main ingredients (add cardamom if you’re using eggs, cinnamon for lamb, etc), and it’s really about what your family likes. I am not a fan of curry powder, and feel that curry leaves are going to change your life if you like Indian food. Curry powder is what the Brits created to mimic the curries they tasted in India, without access to the fresh leaves. You can also get dried curry leaves, but they’re not as good.

Thai curries tend to be more specific recipes for red, yellow, green curries with slight variations on more classic dishes, more what we think of as recipes with minor variations, where Indian families tend to have their favorite spice palates based on region, religion and personal preference. And I’ll get off my soap box now, since this is your blog!

One last note, I like the flavor of serrano chilies better with Indian food than jalapenos, but that’s completely personal preference. They’re about the same spice level.

SO SO awesome. Thank you Mandy!! I’ll be on the look out for fresh curry leaves. And yes, serrano chiles are wonderful. I did consider them, but had jalapenos on hand, so…I guess that’s why they won in this case.
Also, I just recently made a chana masala and now I wish I consulted you beforehand for tips!

Oh, man, I love chana masala. I’ve had to learn about Indian food the hard way, since my husband isn’t exactly a trained chef and his mom, who doesn’t really speak English, is thousands of miles away. But I love sharing what I know!

I encourage everyone I know to go to the Asian market. The staff are usually super helpful, and often the prices are lower than the same ingredients at the grocery store. Ask the clerk for recommendations if you’re feeling adventurous. I recommend trying the frozen idli (steamed rice cakes) and sambhar (spicy vegetable “soup”), which cook in the microwave in under 10 minutes and are a great light lunch: pour the heated sambhar over the idli, think Indian pot pie). Check out the prepackaged seasoning packets for ideas on what kinds of spice combos to try. But I don’t recommend actually using the prepacked stuff; it’s usually a lot more fattening and salty than necessary.

Hi Andie-
Great dish! I was thinking about your book this morning- any updates to share? I have been reading like a fiend lately- finding some good books out there for my Kindle. It’s snowing like crazy here today so I have stew in the crockpot and a good book to read…love the weekends! Hope all is well with you- I still really enjoy your blog!
Lisa

I promise… I LIVE or should I say.. COOk by your recipes! I made this recipe tonight.. Absolutely AMAZING!! I’m a rice and gravy kinda gal so I added more coconut milk and broth to mine with a little arrowroot powder (to thicken) my curry gravy.. BOMB.COM! lol! Thanks again for your inspiration and recipes!

Made this for dinner tonight! It was great! I’m so bummed that I didn’t have cilantro though; that always makes Indian food SO much better; just does something to intensify the flavor. Even without it, though, this was great. I served it with roasted broccoli–the way the florets soaked up the sauce was amazng!

I just discovered your site while searching for something to make with my two favorite things,coconut and curry!I just made this dish and it doesn’t disappoint! I look forward to cooking more with you:)

Made this for dinner tonite and I must say…. Delicious!!!! My house is smelling great!!!! I did add in some cinnamon and a little heavy whipping cream… Cant wait to hear results from the Family!!! Thanks Again

Yum! It looks really good! As a Malaysian I’ve always had coconut milk added into my curries and that’s how I love them. Usually though I just use curry pastes to save me the trouble of having to make my own as I have a hectic work schedule and so far using the Dollee curry paste, I have not been disappointed! I always end up with a flavourful dish which takes less than 30 minutes to make!
I may give this recipe a go though. Might you know if I could substitute jalapenos for habanero peppers? I def am one who prefers a slight kick to her curries or are jalapenos spicy enough?

So with my mom out of the country for two weeks, it has fallen to my shoulders to feed my father and my sister. After a day of teaching teens, I marched over to the grocery store to let my creativity run wild. This recipe turned out to be amazing! Thank you so much!

Thank you, Andie, for this wonderful recipe! I had all of the ingredients on hand except for the turmeric, curry powder and coconut milk, so I just substituted Trader Joe’s red curry sauce. I added some cayenne pepper too (I love things extra spicy) and served it on a light bed of rice, Simply fabulous! So much flavor. I’m sure it would have been better with sauce from scratch, but the bottled sauce its a surprisingly good alternative if you’re short on time.

I’ll be making your Cajun Tilapia Bacon Sandwich tonight. Can’t wait! Thanks again for your great recipes and ongoing inspiration.

Coconut Curry Chicken for dinner was magical, romantic and oh so satisfying..this was amazing!!! I truly wanted to drink the sauce straight from the pan..but I didn’t, only because I knew I wanted leftovers for lunch today!!! THIS will be a regular in our household..thank you! As for tonight…Lighter Spicy Mongolian Beef…eek the excitement is building!

On an even more exciting note, since starting to cook your recipes and journeying through weight loss differently than I ever have before thanks to you, I have lost weight..even with some overeating blunders! I think I deserve a zucchini spiral slicer don’t you?
XOXOXO

Carol, you are truly amazing and inspiring! Thank you for all the goodness you’ve brought to my life through your cooking of my recipes! It’s so fun to wake up every morning and see what you’ve made :)

Thank you, Marie! Garam masala differs regionally, but generally it’s a blend of peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg or mace, cardamom, bay leaf, and cumin. Curry powder is a blend, too, but to me, it’s got less of that warm sweetness. Most curry powders have a few of the same ingredients as garam masala, but the main ones are coriander, turmeric, fenugreek, and chili peppers.

I had to comment on this recipe, it is simply heaven! The only changes I made was I used fresh Tumeric, which if anything enhanced the flavors, and I added a can of chickpeas. So yummy, please treat yourself and make this for yourself, your family, just make it. Enjoy.

Hi Andie,
I’m making up my meal schedule for the week, and this looks amazing! For some reason, under instructions, it only says “Test”.
Is that something funky on my end, or is that something you could fix?
PS – I really love your pictures and your decorating…I always feel peaceful after looking at your blog :)